Chapter Eighteen
It hadn't been that long ago that Gwen had parted ways with many of the people she was now traveling with. Not even a handful of months, really; but rejoining many old faces, it felt like it had been years.
The relationships that had emerged from that time especially were jarring to the young mesmer. She wasn't surprised to learn that Cynn and Mhenlo married… that attraction had been rather obvious, even to her. But to learn that the oft prissy elementalist was pregnant; that was something she couldn't quite wrap her mind around. That had to be some sort of sick joke… Cynn was just putting on a little weight.
Of course, it wasn't. The argument that burst in flames (literally and figuratively) as the father-to-be tried to convince the mother-to-be to remain in Atal Ra couldn't have been contrived. She wasn't sure if she should offer prayers to the coming child… or to the world that would host that coming child.
And Pyre… what had possessed him? That arrogant… conniving… bigoted… bloated sack of kindling and fur… she still couldn't figure out what had gotten into him. He had apologized (or attempted to, she supposed) for his actions in the past; something that Gwen would never have expected from the proud Fierce clan chief…
"You could have told me you weren't entirely on the side of the shamans." Pyre had said to the Charr named Grazz. "If I had known you were offering information on their actions to… well… actually… I would have still ripped your throat out. I… I… damn… what I'm trying to say is… I was an idiot back then. Probably still an idiot now. You're not the brainwashed excuse for a Charr I thought you were. If I could do it all over again with what I know now; I would have merely run you out of my stead with your buttocks filled with arrows or something… or… damnit. I'm not good at this sort of thing, understand? You think this is funny, you little mouse? I'll give you something to laugh about…"
Apparently Gwen had started chuckling at the memory, because she heard Pyre's low growl, and turned her head to see the Charr ranger glaring daggers at her. Pulled from her reverie, she again returned to her people watching.
The others hadn't seemed to change much, and for that, she supposed she should be grateful. Aidan was still as quiet and sage as she remembered, Eve was still creepy, and Vekk was… well… Vekk.
Truth be told, she had no idea what to think of the Asuran prodigy before, much less now. To this day, he, and all the Asura for that matter, remained so… alien… nothing like any of the other races she had ever met. The Norn, Dwarves, and even the Charr, all with different morals, traditions, customs, and methods; but after some time, she came to understand them. The Asura… well… all she could figure out was that they made stuff, seemingly on a whim, and used them with rather equal disregard. Her rear bore the brunt of that fact.
Her musings on Vekk didn't even keep her attention all that long, even to her it was a preamble to the most prominent change in the group.
She knew Prince Coran… at least in the way the typical peasant or lower noble would know the monarchy. Perhaps it was better to say she knew of him… even if most of the things she remembered happened when she was so young that they didn't come to the fore of her mind all that quickly. The only thing that was readily remarkable was the momentary sorrow that had befallen her mother when it was declared the prince had died… but mostly because his death (or more accurately now, his disappearance) seemed to have been the first of a disastrous chain of events that included the Searing, and her imprisonment at the hands of the Charr.
In a way, he was as difficult to figure out as the Asura, which made sense to some degree, since he had been trained by them. And as if to add to the aura of mystery, he had been trained as a Paragon; a profession she didn't really know much of outside of it originating in Elona.
But at the same time; she knew all to well the determined, barely repressed anger that was driving him on this mission. Even as he chatted amiably, she swore she could almost see the hairs on his arms bristle as his mind no doubt harbored thoughts of the shamans converging with some as of yet unknown purpose. No doubt it brought to his mind the same catastrophe as it did her, and the anger of the lost lives, both among others, and within themselves.
In that, she felt a connection to the prince… something that it appeared only they shared. Sure, every human in present company felt anger and sorrow and loss at the Searing… but to Coran, like herself… she could sense he felt some sort of personal anger in regards to the cataclysm. It was something that burned in the both of them… unlike the others, who viewed the Searing in how it destroyed Ascalon. To Coran and Gwen, they both saw the Searing in how it destroyed them.
Yet, even as he himself was a significant change to the old party… his presence alone also seemed to evoke change in the others; the most glaring being in Devona. Gwen remembered the warrior as a kind enough soul; someone who she admired for much of her young life. She remembered wistfully wishing she would one day be as pretty and strong; getting so excited when Devona had given her a handful of self-defense lessons to keep the skales at bay. Devona had been invincible in the eyes of the young Gwen, and to a great extent even now.
Yet, watching the interaction between Devona and the prince… it didn't seem right. The warrior seemed nervous, yet also at ease. They had been talking nearly non-stop since the regiment of sorts assembled at the natural exit of the Atal Ra cavern and began their march; sometimes serious business like strategy or what they might find; to casual banter that astonished Gwen. It seemed innocuous enough on the surface… but there was also a deeply personal connection that the young mesmer didn't understand. She had never really sensed such an unspoken undertone before…
"Coran… I know this is a bit off topic… but it's been bothering me." Devona said. "Did you really learn about the Charr by… you know…"
The prince laughed softly, "I can assure you, all the subjects I studied, no matter their race, had expired long before I began digging around."
"Oddly enough, when I do that, I'm considered a menace." Eve quipped.
Devona gave Eve a nasty glare, like the necromancer was trying to get the warrior to share a toy she wasn't keen on sharing.
Gwen had been startled by the possessiveness Devona had displayed with merely her eyes. The only emotions she had experienced that intensely had been hate and anger… and while the momentarily dislike Devona had cast Eve's way had a hint of that, the power Gwen was feeling was clearly coming from something else.
The young mesmer was no closer to answers as she sat by the campfire Aidan and Pyre had started when it was decided it was best to hold for the night and finish their march the following day. Just as before, Devona kept very close proximity to the prince, her attention so focused on Prince Coran that it probably explained how the warrior seemed to have no inkling that Gwen's eyes had been following her movements closely.
Devona stood momentarily to approach the fire, looking back towards the prince as she pointed to the rabbit meat that was cooking over the flames on a makeshift spit. Even such innocent actions carried that intense, unfamiliar feeling… so thick Gwen could almost taste it.
At that moment, the young mesmer was harkened to her earlier admirations. Even when she had been barely old enough to understand the differences between boys and girls, Gwen had known Devona was pretty. It had been obvious to her even then. But the warrior was more than that. Gwen was suddenly aware of the smooth, fluid, finely honed curves as Devona leaned over the fire. Devona was beautiful.
And even with the simple movement necessary to take one marginally straight twig off the spit frame, she could almost feel the powerful muscles within the warrior's body move as if they were her own. Her strength... strength Gwen had admired… no… strength the mesmer had envied… Devona was truly everything Gwen had wished she could be; even as she knew she couldn't.
Again, Devona took her seat, prying away roughly half of the rabbit meat from the stick and giving it to the prince with a smile that must have warmed his heart as much as it did Gwen's. It was so fortunate that the two appeared completely engrossed in each other, because Gwen at that point didn't care that she was outright leering at the scene before her eyes.
"Don't even go there, mouse."
Pyre's voice felt like stones rubbing together, creeping down her spine. It took so long for her mind to switch gears and move forward that the Charr ranger had sat down heavily on the log next to her and had engulfed half his meal (stick and all) before the mesmer could even formulate her oh so eloquent reply.
"What?"
Pyre laughed derisively. "I have no idea what compels you mice to behave the way you do… all this love nonsense and soulmates or whatever you all call it. Those are just pretty words you use to make your base primal urges seem better than ours."
Gwen still wasn't completely following, her eyes torn between Devona, Prince Coran, and Pyre. "I… what are you talking about?"
"Like you don't know." Pyre snorted. "I can see it in your eyes. Leave the silliness that is human attraction to the adults. I can promise you aren't ready for what's in your mind."
Of course, Pyre might as well have dared Gwen to do exactly the opposite. She jumped to her feet, looked down on the Charr. "You think so? Don't even pretend to think you know what I'm ready for."
With a grim determination, she crossed the circle, and came to a stop at her destination. Dropping to both knees, her focus momentarily failed as both the prince and Devona turned their attention to her. Focusing on the warrior, she could have slapped herself at her timid squeak of "Devona?"
Devona blinked twice; then smiled in an attempt to assure the young mesmer. "What is it, Gwen? Is something wrong?"
Gwen said nothing more, instead swiftly framed the warrior's face between her hands, and crushed her lips to Devona's.